Political editor, The Age

Julia Gillard has vowed that the May budget will not impose cuts that will ''really hurt people'' by weakening the economy, but has insisted new spending would be matched by savings.

The Prime Minister told a people's forum on Monday night that the budget's problem was on the revenue side, not the spending side, because the tax take was at its lowest since the early 1990s. This would recover over time, she said.

But Ms Gillard said the government's rigour would be reflected in a determination to find savings to fund new expenditure, especially on big-ticket items such as school funding reform.

The question-and-answer forum at Nunawading in the seat of Deakin, which Labor holds by just 0.6 per cent, saw Ms Gillard quizzed on issues ranging from gay marriage and asylum seekers, to foster care, the NBN and asylum seekers, but the tone was restrained, civil and respectful.

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Ron, a retired engineer, expressed concern at Labor's inability to sell its achievements, while a retired teacher named George wanted to pay more tax on his super. That was a question Ms Gillard said she had not faced elsewhere.

She took two questions on the funding cuts to universities and revealed her first act of political activism was to protest against university cutbacks by the Fraser government.

''If I was a vice-chancellor, I'd be complaining about it, but I've got to make decisions looking at everything that's going on, as to what is the highest priority and the best thing to do,'' she said.

On her opposition to gay marriage she said: ''I do know that when people look at me, they think that maybe that's a pretty eccentric view for someone like me to have because, as people know, I'm not a religious person so it's not a religious reason.''

But she expressed optimism the Coalition would join Labor and support a conscience vote on the issue in the next Parliament, implicitly conceding that this could lead to a change in the Marriage Act.

A survey of those present was more positive for the Prime Minister than published polls, with 40 saying they supported her, 12 opposing her and 38 undecided.